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One thing NT marketing needs to do is let US (us users) do some work for them - we know why other people think LW is a joke and we know how to convince them otherwise.
The other part is there needs to me more user profiles up and rotating on a regular basis (like 2 - 3 a week) Not one or two every 4 or 6 months.
It should also be made easier to submit content directly to NT via the web, not mailing in on DVD(you want to show that kick *** 4K plate vfx shot on DVD? - unless they are talking just files I guess which I think is the case but I love how they also ask for stuff on betacam, like come on.. how many animation studios do you know have betacam sp decks? that NT's video marketing department infecting the marketing of a different division's marketing logic) to someone who isn't in San Antonio where newtek lives. A full "agree to by clicking this button" fill out form giving NT the permission to show the work, with a credits form area to credit the people who worked on it and a way to resume uploads for big stuff. Then someone with some decent video (NT does do video products) conversion skills sets it up to the website and or cross links to it from other sites.
One of the other things needed is for NT to market outside of its "user base". And for the love of god, NT needs to also understand that Canada, and the schools here need to have a Canadian office (I have volunteered this several times in the past) that is NT to deal with instead of some bogus distributor when ordering copies and getting information. Autodesk - canadian office. Softimage (although that is now autodesk but was controlled by avid in the last round) = canadian office. Eyeon (makers of fusion) = Canadian office. Adobe = Canadian office. And that office should be where the most studios that use LW are. Vancouver. Right in the heart of Canada's VFX, game and animation industry. If it did that, it would have an advantage over those companies because every one of those companies I just mentioned... have offices in... the most evil place in the world (to anyone who doesn't live there), the center of the universe... Toronto, Ontario. A place Canadian companies hate almost as much as having to "call down to the states".
I know for most people it sounds stupid and like splitting hairs as I am American but have lived here for what is possibly way to bloody long - but this is the attitude Canadians have. 2 of the major packages (maya, XSI) are all rooted for development in Canada with long histories. The least NT could do is have a Lightwave division sales and education office here. I know NT is a small company, but ignoring this is what keeps it small and always on the edge. the distribution deal they have up here for their products is brutal. You are dealing with a middle man if you are a reseller and they never have anything in stock and don't push the product to anyone. So why go through a middle man here in Canada if 1. they don't know the products and cant talk to you about it, and 2. just charge you more in the form of the 'canada tax' while point number 1. is all up in your in the face?? Providing you know who to even call to order a copy if in canada since LW is barely sold on the shelf here at any store, but you can walk into several places and pick up a hard copy of max or maya.

Christ, for example when LW was still priced logically before the pricing increase due to core's announcement (sub 1000 US) why wasn't NT all over the London Drugs chain and its computer departments for selling LW? If anyone is familiar with this chain (most people in canada are on the western half of the country) then you would know that you can walk in there and pick up a super high end wacom tablet, the full adobe production package and a high end workstation (ish, they have slacked off in recent years) all in one go. It's like the B+H video of canada in some london drugs with nice product, but NT because they are not up here in any real capacity, seemingly locked into a software distributor that they have that is brain damaged (and they are as I have dealt with them on and off for over 10 years - doesn't matter what they sell they suck) - they are leaving a market that is more or less leading the charge on VFX and animation and games wide open to domination by other companies.
Dumb and dumber.
But again, the offer goes out to start up NT Canada (put a little maple leaf next to it if you have to even though it would make me cringe because Canadians throw that around so much you would think its like the hammer and cythe) here in Vancouver, and help push the software into the what... 9 schools running here doing VFX and animation and support the studios that use it while expanding the artist user base across the board.

Am I a nutjob for saying this? Maybe, some people can disagree with me for sure, that happens a lot but I have a lot of points here that cannot be ignored either by the community itself or NT's Lightwave division. Simply saying they are concerned about it doesn't cut it. They need a plan, and I have just given you the bullet points.

Gotta say, I agree wit ha lot of that.
Never understood why the talent out there isn't utilized, as you say, users are well aware of misconceptions on LW, not helped at all by some "demo reels" shown for it.

A good example of what can be done was the reel the community banded together to do not long back. Under short notice and of their own volition, they produced something that was superb. Makes you wonder what else could be done if they had the facility to do so. As you say, needs a way to submit work and Newtek need to shine a light on the users, after all, if you get great shots from folks using it on a daily basis, that speaks volumes about the product, far more than say, "used in film XYZ on pre-vis".